Lancius

Lancius was born in the Roman city of Ravenna on the Italian peninsula, in the late 1st century. His father was a tax collector and his mother was one of his many mistresses. Lancius showed his intellectual skills quite early, and became an apprentice to the city’s priests of the Apollo Temple. At the side of his intellectual skills, Lancius was also a vigorous young man and often trained with the staff to keep his body in top shape. In AD 97, during a civilian riot in the city, the temple was raided by an angry mob. Lancius faithfully defended the tempel alongside the temple guards, until a great beast arrived. It was incredibly strong and massacred guards and townsfolk alike, feasting on their blood. Lancius fought the beast who proved a horrific opponent. After a ferocious battle, Lancius managed to drive the sharp point of his broken staff through the beasts heart, who fell to the ground. Lancius himself was mortally wounded, and lost consciousness. He was barely conscious when another being arrived, carried him into the dark catacombs of the temple, and supped on his blood before turning him into a vampire.

His sire’s name was Cornelius, who had witnessed his last fight (against a FeralGangrel) with great curiosity. He was simply too impressed to let this mortal die, and thus gave him the gift of the Embrace. Lancius himself claimed to have received a vision from God in his dying moment and was deeply touched. As a fledgling vampire he traveled with his sire, learning about the cainite society and honing his martial skills. He never adopted his sire’s feral ways, instead guided by his vision to an Ashen Priest in Mediolanum who taught him the ways of pleasing Heaven. Cornelius was amused by his devout childe, and took him to several battles and journeys through the barbarian lands of Germania, before arriving in the province of Britannia.

While Cornelius journeyed further north, Lancius settled in Londinium, where he became an advisor to Gnaeus Septimus Luca, the city’s Seneschal, tutoring him on religious matters and instead receiving tutelage in politics. After the Elder entered the Sleep of Ages in AD 189, Lancius left the city after a personal dispute over religious matters with the newly appointed successor, Servilius. He settled in the city of Camulodunum for a few decades, where he sired his first childe, Waldemar. In AD 229, he returned to Londinium after Mithras himself had settled the dispute. However, the feelings of enmity between the to cainites never disappeared. He served as a mentor to his young “brother” Nathael, until his later appointment of Satrap, and continued serving as a mentor to various young cainites. In the early 4th century, he sired his second childe, Gaius Aegius, who disappointed him by accepting the tutelage of his rival, Servilius.

After the disappearance of Mithras and the ascension of Lucius Varro, Lancius left Londinium and settled in the city of Calleva Atrebatum, where he became Prince He rejected pressure from Servilius into becoming a vassal to Varro, instead seeking allies in the west, and entered a fragile alliance with the Prince of Glevum, Caius Tadius Lupus. His martial prowess and cunning strategical mind prevented Scion incursions to his domain until the arrival of the Toreador Queen, Rowena. With her help and the forming of the Triat Axis in AD 450, Lancius’ domains were run over by the Ventrue forces and Calleva was burnt to the ground. Lancius himself survived, pushed into torpor by the hands of the Artisan Warrior Eldric in AD 455.

When he awakened in the early 6th century he found the country completely changed. At first he stayed low, gathering information about the political situation, and contemplated on his past failures. He came to the conclusion that his faith had faltered and that his aggressiveness had caused the fall of his domain. He chose to remain in the ruins of his former domain, as a reminder of his past faults, and vowed never to solve anything by means of fighting, and to protect those in need from oppression. His domain became a haven for anyone willing to keep the peace and he began convincing other lords into believers in mediation. While Servilius still didn’t trust his former enemy, Lancius officially declared all past events forgotten and hoped to unify the cainites in order to prevent further bloodshed.

With the Final Death of Caius Tadius Lupus in AD 577, Lancius lost his former ally, and the new lord of Glevum, Marcus Verus, didn’t show any particular interest in cooperating with the “weak peacemongerer”. In the early 7th century, Lancius was occupied with negotiations with lords of the south, with Rowena as the most influential among them. In AD 616 he was the target of an assassination attempt by Demprios which resulted in such mayhem that it disturbed the sleep of his ancient Mentor beneath Calleva, Gnaeus Septimus Luca. It didn’t take much in the way of persuasion from the Methuselah to have his old pupil as an ally once again, and he accompanied Luca away from his domain. In AD 617, he was present in Tamworh by Luca’s side during the creation of the Mercian League, where he assumed the mantle of Justiciar.

In AD 740, Lancius (along with his right hand Berthilde) was responsible for the revelation about Rowena’s subtle hand in the treachery at Eboracum, where the rebellious young Wolghere had set the city ablaze under the guise of Mercian soldiers. Lancius confronted him in the streets of Eboracum, where the young Warlord surprised everyone by slaying the elder Justiciar. It was later revealed that he had assistance from the legendary Scourge, Aidalos.